


Book 1: Water (Rewrite)

by avatar_dragon_rider



Series: ATLA OC Rewrite [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), each episode is split into three chapters, not all relationships in the relationships tag are canon, oc-insert, so this fic will be long as hell, those are just the ones explored in the fic, warning for long chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-09-20 14:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9495746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avatar_dragon_rider/pseuds/avatar_dragon_rider
Summary: This is a rewrite of the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series to include my OCs. I do not own ATLA. All rights to the series belong to the creators. This is written purely for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of anyone who wants to read it





	1. The Boy in the Iceberg, act I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days. A time of peace. When the Avatar kept balance between Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, only he could stop the ruthless Firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. 100 years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads, and that the cycle is broken. But I haven’t lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world

“It’s not getting away from me this time,” said Sokka, his spear pointed at a fish in the water. “Watch and learn, Katara. This is how you catch a fish.”

Katara and her older brother Sokka were out fishing in the icy waters of the South Pole, near the Southern Water Tribe where they lived. Currently, Sokka had his spear raised, waiting to stab a fish that was swimming a little too close to the canoe. Katara rolled her eyes at her annoying, obnoxious brother and turned away from him. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw another fish swimming near her end of the canoe. Taking a nervous breath, she removed her glove and used Waterbending to bring the fish up out of the water in a small bubble of water.

“Sokka, look!” she exclaimed.

“Shh, Katara!” Sokka said in a loud whisper. “You’re gonna scare it away! Mmm, I can already smell it cooking.”

“But Sokka!” Katara insisted. “I caught one!” She brought the fish closer to the canoe, aiming to drop it in the basket; at the same time Sokka lifted his spear to stab the fish he was aiming to catch. The butt end of the spear popped Katara’s water bubble, causing her fish to escape and fall into the water, swimming away. Sokka gasped as the ice-cold water splashed onto him and Katara yelled “Hey!”

“Why is it―that every time―you play with magic water―I get soaked?” Sokka asked as he squeezed water out of his gloves and shot his sister a look.

Katara sighed in exasperation. “It’s not magic, it’s _Waterbending._ And it’s―”

“Yeah yeah,” Sokka cut her off, “an ancient art, unique to our culture, blah blah blah.” He squeezed out his wolftail (or as Katara called it, a “warrior’s ponytail”). “Look I’m just saying that if I had weird powers I’d keep my weirdness to myself.”

“You’re calling me weird?” Katara crossed her arms. “I’m not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water.”

Sokka―who had been doing just that―pushed his sleeve back down and glared at his sister. Before he could say anything, however, the canoe hit a chunk of ice in the water and the siblings were thrown into the rapids. Sokka grabbed the oar to try and steer them, but he wasn’t having much luck.

“Watch out!” Katara screamed as they almost hit another ice chunk. “Go left! Go left!”

Unfortunately, the canoe was trapped between two large ice floes even bigger than the canoe. Sokka grabbed his sister and pushed her onto one of the ice floes before they were crushed with the canoe. Katara managed to stop herself from sliding into the water and backed up to where Sokka was sitting near his spear, which had embedded itself in the ice. Miraculously, the rapids had ceased, leaving the waters calm and serene.

The siblings, however, were not. “You call that left?” Katara asked her brother.

“You don’t like my steering?” Sokka sassed back at her. “Well maybe you should have ‘Waterbended’ us out of the ice.”

“So it’s my fault.” Katara stood up and glared down at her brother.

“I knew I should have left you home,” Sokka said, not looking at her. “Leave it to a girl to screw things up.”

Katara’s eyes narrowed, and she lost her temper. “You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained―” She paused, swinging her arms around as she continued her rant. “I’m embarrassed to be related to you!”

Sokka looked up and did a double-take when he saw the large shark-tooth-shaped formation of ice starting to crack behind Katara. She didn’t seem to notice as she continued her rant.

“Ever since Mom died, I’ve been doing all the work around camp while you’ve been off playing soldier!” She swung her arms more, and the cracks increased.

“Uh…Katara?” Sokka pointed nervously at the ice formation, but Katara kept going.

“I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks?! Let me tell you: NOT PLEASANT!!”

“Katara, settle down!”

“NO! That’s it, I’m done helping you! From now on, you’re on your OWN!” She flung her arms with such force that the entire ice formation cracked behind her, splitting completely in half as it sank below the water. Katara finally turned around to see what she had done, and gasped when she saw the crumbling ice. She dropped to her stomach next to her brother as the waves created by the falling ice pushed their little ice floe a few yards away from where it had rested moments before. 

When they finally stopped moving, Sokka removed his arm from around his sister. “Okay, you’ve gone from weird to freakish, Katara.”

“You mean _I_ did that?” Katara asked in shock.

“Yep, congratulations.”

Before Katara could retort, the water in front of them started glowing and bubbling. Both siblings stood up and watched in a mix of fear and confusion as a giant iceberg surfaced before them. The pair stepped back a bit, watching as the iceberg settled itself on the water.

The iceberg was unlike any the Water Tribe siblings had ever seen before. It was like a giant sphere, with a thick ring of ice around the middle that seemed to be keeping it afloat. It was a light blue color, seemingly glowing from the inside. And it was the inside that was the weirdest of all.

Three figures were trapped inside the sphere. In the middle was a giant furry bison creature with six legs and a tail like a giant koala-otter. It was curled up around a little bald boy with glowing arrow tattoos on his face and hands. He looked about 12 years old, he sat in a meditating position with his fists pressed together, and his eyes were closed. Above the bison creature was a girl with dark hair pulled back into a braid. She appeared to be the same age as the boy, and it looked like she’d been hanging onto the bison’s rope when they froze, like she’d been steering. Her eyes were closed as well.

Katara raised an eyebrow, unsure about what to make of these two kids and a bison creature all trapped in an iceberg. But before she could ask Sokka about it, the boy opened his eyes. They were glowing white, like his arrows. 

“He’s alive!” Katara exclaimed. “We have to help!” She grabbed her brother’s machete off his back and hopped across the ice chunks to the iceberg.

“Katara!” Sokka yelled. “Get back here! We don’t know what that thing is!” He grabbed his spear as he followed his sister to the ring of ice that kept the iceberg afloat.

Katara ignored him, of course, and started whacking the side of the iceberg with the machete, using the blue-dyed ball of bone to make a hole in the ice. She hit the iceberg five times before she got through to the inside, and a gust of air shot out, knocking Katara into her brother. Sokka stood his ground and caught his sister as they fell back, somehow managing to stay on the ice and not fall into the frigid water behind them. Cracks moved upward from where Katara had broken through the iceberg, and as the it blew its top, a beam of bluish-white light shot up into the sky.  
__________

A few miles away, on the deck of a Fire Nation ship, stood a tall boy with a large scar on the left side of his face and a nearly bald head aside from one long ponytail. He watched the beam of light with a hungry and determined expression. “Finally,” he whispered, turning to face the elderly man behind him. “Uncle! Do you realize what this means?”

“I won’t get to finish my game?” the old man answered from where he was sitting on a pillow in front of a low table, on which sat cards and a teapot, steam curling from the spout of the pot and the cup that sat next to it.

“It means my search,” the boy corrected darkly, turning back to the beam of light, “it’s about to come to an end.”

The old man, Uncle Iroh, sighed and placed another card on the table.

“That light came from an incredibly powerful source!” the teenaged boy said as the light disappeared behind him. “It has to be him!” He turned back to where the light had been.

“Oh, it’s just the celestial lights,” Uncle Iroh responded. “We’ve been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don’t want you to get too excited over nothing.” He placed another card on the table. “Please sit. Why don’t you enjoy a cup of charming jasmine tea?”

“I don’t need any calming tea!” Prince Zuko threw back at his uncle. “I need to capture the Avatar! Helmsman! Head a course for the light!” The prince pointed in the direction the light had come from. Iroh just sighed and placed yet another card on the table. The wind picked up a bit, rattling the cards and making the steam from the tea dance in the air.  
__________

Katara and Sokka looked up at the top of the iceberg, which now resembled a mountain that had just blown its top in a volcanic eruption. The siblings shared a nervous look from where they sat on the ice, Katara pressed up against Sokka, his arm around her protectively. They looked back up at the top of the iceberg to see the boy climbing up to the top. His arrow tattoos and eyes were still glowing, the same color as the beam of light that had shot into the sky only moments before.

“Stop!” Sokka shouted, pointing his spear at the boy. 

_**commercial break** _


	2. The Boy in the Iceberg, act II

The boy stood up on the edge of the ice, then the fog cleared and the wind slowed to a stop. The glow faded from the boy’s eyes and arrows as he fell over the edge of the iceberg’s top. Katara gasped and leapt forward, catching him before his head hit the ice. She looked at his face, trying to see if he was at all hurt from his fall or from being in the iceberg. Sokka immediately started poking the boy’s bald head with his spear.

“Stop it!” Katara scolded, swatting him away. She laid the boy back against the side of the iceberg.

The boy groaned softly, almost inaudibly, as he slowly opened his eyes. He gasped a little when he saw Katara. “I need to ask you something,” he said in a croaky voice.

“What?” Katara asked.

“Please…come closer.”

Katara did as she was asked, leaning a little closer to him. “What is it?”

The boy paused for a moment, then perked up as if he hadn’t just been stuck in an iceberg. “Will you go penguin sledding with me?”

Katara leaned back a bit, surprised by both his question and his sudden burst of energy. “Uh…sure, I-I guess.”

The boy got to his feet, but the way he did it was weird. It was like he was levitating, controlling the air around him. Katara stood up and took a couple steps back. 

“What’s going on here?” the boy asked as he looked around.

“You tell us!” Sokka said in shock. “How’d you get in the ice?! And why aren’t you frozen?” He poked the boy with his spear again.

“I’m not sure,” the boy said as he absentmindedly swatted Sokka’s spear away. Something made a grumbling sound from the other side of the ice wall and the boy gasped, climbing over the ice. Katara and Sokka shrugged at each other as they walked around to the other side of the wall. Sokka’s jaw dropped at what they saw.

The boy was trying to lift the big bison thing by the upper lip. After a few tries, its tongue came out and lifted the boy into the air. He laughed and said “You’re okay!” as the bison set him down. The boy rubbed its nose as the creature got to its feet. The bison had six legs that looked like huge, furry tree stumps, and a large flat tail like a koala-otter’s, but other than that it looked like a normal bison. Its fur was an ivory color and it had a brownish arrow on its head that ran down the length of its back to the end of its tail, leaving stripes along the back perpendicular to the arrow.

“What _is_ that thing?” Sokka asked.

“This is Appa,” the boy answered, one hand on the bison’s nose, “my flying bison.”

“Right,” Sokka said with a roll of his eyes. “And this is Katara, my flying sister.” He gestured to Katara, who shot him an annoyed look.

Appa breathed in a few times before the boy dropped to the ground and yelled “DUCK!” Appa blew snots all over Sokka, who made sounds of disgust as he wiped his face in the snow.

“Don’t worry, it’ll wash out,” said the boy cheerfully.

“BLEHHH!” Sokka tried to wipe the snot away from his cheek, but it just stuck to his skin and glove. Katara put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from throwing up. Finally, he managed to get the vast majority of it off of his face and clothes.

“So, do you guys live around here?” the boy asked.

“Don’t answer that!” Sokka said before Katara could answer, shoving the tip of his spear in the boy’s face as he stood up. “Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure he’s a spy for the Fire Navy,” Katara sassed, moving in front of Sokka. “You can tell by that evil look in his eye.”

The boy blinked at the siblings before smiling in a weirdly adorable way.

“The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka,” Katara continued. “You never told us your name.”

“Oh yeah!” the boy said, as if this simple thing had completely slipped his mind. “Where are my manners? I’m―”

“Hello?!” a girl’s voice called from the back of the bison. “Aang?! Where are you?!”

“Nahli?” the boy―Aang, apparently―called back. He turned around to see a girl jump down from Appa’s back. Aang ran to her and gave her a giant platypus-bear hug, to which she immediately protested.

“Aang, okay, that’s enough!” She managed to wriggle her arms free to push Aang off of her. “Geez, what are you, an oversized elbow leech?”

“Who is that?” Sokka asked, pointing to the girl.

Aang released her and gestured to her. “Katara, Sokka, meet Nahli. Nahli, this is Katara and Sokka.”

Nahli nodded in greeting at the Water Tribe siblings. “Hey,” was all she said in greeting. 

Katara looked at Nahli closely. She was the one who’d been clinging to the bison’s reins in the iceberg. She wore the same outfit as the boy, but the similarities stopped there. She wore a large cloak on her back and had brunette hair pulled back into a braid, her bangs hanging in her face just enough that it reached her eyes. The two kids seemed to be from the same nation, since they were dressed the same, but where Aang’s eyes were a deep gray that was different than the blue, green or amber of the other nations, Nahli’s were a striking blue, more like those of someone from the Water Tribe. She also had a sword sheath on her hip, the hilt forged into the shape of a dragon.

“What’s with the sword?” Katara asked without really thinking about it. She’d never seen a sword hilt like that before.

Nahli opened her mouth to answer, but didn’t get the chance to say anything before she sneezed and shot up into the air. Katara and Sokka threw their arms up to block themselves from the gust of wind while Aang just watched his friend propel into the air.

“What just happened?” Sokka asked, looking up.

“Don’t worry, she does this all the time,” Aang answered. “Side effect of sneezing.”

Katara didn’t know what else to say, so she just replied with “Oh.” A few seconds later, Nahli slid back down the side of the iceberg, coming to a stop next to Aang. She made a sound that seemed to be a cross between a hiss and a growl; judging by Aang’s nod, he seemed to understand her. 

Katara, however, did not. “What was that?” she asked. Sokka was too busy staring at Nahli in shock and confusion to question her.

“Dregna,” answered Nahli. “The ancient language of the dragons.”

“Really?” Katara raised an eyebrow. “No one speaks the Ancient Languages of the Old World anymore.” Mainly because the war had sucked up everyone’s time and no one had the patience to learn them. “That explains the dragon sword hilt. You must have studied them.”

“You could say that.” Nahli suddenly looked defensive, looking at Katara with her eyes narrowed. She stepped closer to Aang as if she needed him to protect her.

“Anyway…” Katara turned to Aang, ignoring Nahli’s odd behavior. “You never told us your name.”

“I’m―ah, ah, ah…” Aang did this a few more times before Nahli yelled “Hit the deck!” and Aang shot up into the air. Like Nahli, a gust of wind was a result of the sneeze, and all three kids threw their arms up to block themselves from the wind. Aang came sliding down the ice wall on his feet just like Nahli did, swinging his arms to keep from falling over. “I’m Aang,” he finished, putting the side of his finger under his nose as he sniffed.

“You just sneezed!” Sokka said with wide eyes. “And flew 10 feet in the air!” He pointed to the sky. His reaction was very delayed, since Nahli had done the exact same thing moments before. Nahli’s eye roll proved this point just fine.

“Really?” Aang looked up at the sky. “It felt higher than that.”

“I think it was,” Nahli agreed.

Katara gasped as realization set in. “You’re _Airbenders!”_

“Sure are,” Aang said at the same time Nahli said “Yep.”

“Giant light beams, flying bison, Airbenders, I think I’ve got Midnight Sun Madness,” Sokka said as he walked towards the edge of the ice. “I’m going home to where stuff makes sense.” Only one issue: there was no way home. Their canoe had been destroyed in the rapids.

“Well if you guys are stuck, Nahli and I can give you a lift on Appa,” Aang offered. Using Airbending, he leapt up to Appa’s head. Nahli did the same, sitting next to him.

“We’d love a ride! Thanks!” Katara exclaimed. She ran over to Appa’s side, and Aang jumped into the large, boat-like saddle to help her up. Nahli looked at Sokka expectantly, motioning for him to climb up.

“Oh no!” Sokka was not having it. “I am not getting on that fluffy snot-monster!”

“Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home?” Katara sassed back at him. “You know, before you freeze to death?”

Nahli snickered at Katara’s comeback. Sokka opened his mouth to retort, but instead sighed in defeat and climbed aboard the bison.

Once everyone was situated, Aang returned to Appa’s head and grabbed the rope tied to Appa’s horns. “Okay, first time flyers hold on tight! Appa, yip yip!” He flicked the reins, and the bison roared as he jumped into the air…only to belly-flop into the water and start swimming. “Come on, Appa! Yip yip!” Aang flicked the reins again, but Appa stayed in the water, using his tail to propel them forward.

“Wow,” Sokka said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. “That was truly amazing.”

“Appa’s just tired,” Aang said. “A little rest and he’ll be soaring through the sky. You’ll see.” He smiled at Katara over his shoulder.

Katara raised an eyebrow. “Why are you smiling at me like that?”

“O-oh, I was smiling?” Aang sounded like he had no idea he had been doing it. Sokka made an exasperated sound at Aang’s obliviousness as he put his head back.

“Way to slay the heart,” Nahli muttered.

“Oh shut up,” Aang whispered back at her, blushing, as Appa swam towards the Southern Water Tribe.  
__________

The sun was beginning to set, the sky darkening with the soft haze of dusk. Uncle Iroh walked out onto the balcony of the Fire Nation ship in his bedrobe. Prince Zuko was standing at the edge, his hands behind his back, his own bedrobe blowing in the wind as the ship sailed onward. He stared ahead silently, his gaze hard. A girl stood next to him, her hood pulled up to hide her face. She stood with her back to the railing, sharpening what looked like a small and thin black knife.

“I’m going to bed now,” Uncle Iroh said. He stretched as he yawned. “Yep, a man needs his rest.” When Zuko did not respond, Iroh added, “Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you’re right, and the Avatar is alive, you won’t find him. Your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all tried and failed.”

“Because their honor,” Zuko replied darkly, “didn’t hinge on the Avatar’s capture. Mine does. This coward’s hundred years in hiding are over.”  
__________

Night had fallen. The kids were just over halfway to the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka was asleep in the back of the saddle, curled up in a ball. Aang lay on his back on Appa’s head, his hands behind his head, staring up at the sky. Nahli had her back pressed against his left side, her eyes closed but not quite asleep. 

Katara was the only other person awake. She crawled to the front of the saddle and rested her arms on the lip that stuck out of the front like a high seat.

“Hey,” she said, loud enough for Aang to hear but soft enough so as not to disturb the others.

“Hey,” Aang replied in the same quiet tone. “Whatchu thinking about?”

“I guess I was wondering, you two being Airbenders and all, if either of you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?”

Aang sat up a little; Nahli stirred beside him from the movement. “Uh, no, we didn’t know him. I mean, we knew people that knew him, but we didn’t. Sorry.”

Katara felt that Aang wasn’t telling the whole truth, but decided not to press him. “Okay, just curious. Goodnight.” She curled up in the saddle.

“Sleep tight,” Aang replied. He turned onto his left side, biting his lip nervously as he stared into the water.

“You’re going to have to tell them sometime,” Nahli whispered. 

Aang jumped a little. He’d thought she was asleep. “I will,” he replied as he lay down behind her, draping an arm over her. “Just not yet. There’s a lot more to our secret than just my half. We'll tell them when we’re both ready.”

Nahli nodded, her eyes still closed, and laced her fingers with his. The two had always been best friends, but over the past few years (before they were trapped in the iceberg), it had begun to grow into something more. What it was, exactly, neither one of them knew. Comforted by this simple gesture, Aang smiled to himself as he closed his eyes, falling into a fitful sleep.

_Lightning flashed across the sky, waking Aang and Nahli from their sleep. The Airbenders shot upright, looking around at their surroundings. Storm clouds surrounded them, rain falling hard as lightning flashed deep inside the clouds. Aang leapt out of the saddle and onto Appa’s large head, Nahli right behind him. He grabbed the reins, trying to find a way out of the storm. It was hard to see with the thickness of the rain and the darkness of the clouds. Even Nahli was having trouble seeing the way with her keen eyesight._

_“Aang, the storm’s too thick!” she yelled over the wind. “I can’t see a way out!”_

_“Don’t worry, we’ll be okay!” Aang yelled back. “Trust me!”_

_Nahli looked at him. Her blue eyes locked onto his gray ones, and there was something in their gaze that kept them rooted in place. That simple gaze told them both what words could not, what should have been said a long time ago. Their lips locked in that instant, one of Aang’s arms around Nahli’s waist, her hand on his shoulder._

_Suddenly, Appa growled in fear, breaking the three-second kiss. The Airbenders leapt apart and looked ahead to see waves that reached higher than Appa’s altitude. They were trapped, there was no way they could turn in time. Both kids screamed as they were forced under the water. Aang lost his grip on the rope as they all started sinking. Nahli clung tightly to Appa’s reins, desperate to stay with him. Facing death by drowning and hypothermia, Aang was pushed into the Avatar State. He slammed his fists together to create a bubble of air that surrounded all of them. The bubble glowed as water began to freeze around them, trapping their bodies in ice and their minds in spiritual hypersleep…_

“Aang.” Katara’s voice cut through the dream. “Aang, wake up!”

Aang sat bolt upright, flinging the blankets down in the process, and gasped for air. The nightmare had been very intense. Throwing the blankets off had exposed his bare chest to the cold of the animal skin tent he lay in; they must have reached the Southern Water Tribe while he was asleep. It was then that he realized he was naked beneath the blanket aside from his undergarments. He tried not to think about who had undressed him.

“It’s okay,” Katara said calmly, resting a hand on his shoulder. “We’re in the village now. Come on, get ready. Everyone’s waiting to meet you.” She stood up and turned to leave, but she stopped when Aang moved the blankets to get his clothes on.

Without his orange-and-yellow uniform, Katara could see all the arrow tattoos on his body. The arrow that pointed at his face came over his head and down his back; the arrows that pointed at his fingers came around his arms and stopped at his underarms; and the arrows that pointed at his toes curled around his knees and stopped where his underwear began.

Katara inhaled softly. She had never seen tattoos like this in person before, only in pictures from scrolls her father had shown her when she was little. They symbolized the mastery of Airbending. It occurred to her that Nahli’s tattoos were exactly the same, but where Aang’s arrow pointed to his eyes, Nahli’s broke off at her neck, an arrow curling over each shoulder and stopping on her collarbone so they pointed at each other. According to the scrolls, that was not the proper pattern for Mastery tattoos. Why were Nahli’s different?

And another thing. Nahli and Aang were so young, only about a year or two younger than Katara. There was no way they had already mastered Airbending at _twelve._ She’d barely mastered lifting water out of the ocean and forming it into a ball when she was their age, and she still hadn’t gotten any better. They must be amazing benders to receive their tattoos so soon.

Katara didn’t dwell on her thoughts any longer. As soon as Aang was dressed, she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door, earning a “WHAA!!” from him in the process. Katara didn’t let him go until they were outside. 

Nahli, who had been waiting for Aang just outside the tent, gripped her friend’s wrist lightly. She looked tired and stressed, the way she always did when something kept her up at night.

“What’s wrong?” Aang whispered so Katara wouldn’t hear.

“Do you remember how we got trapped in the ice?” Nahli looked up at him, her deep blue eyes filled with confusion.

Aang rubbed the back of his neck. “I think I might have dreamed about it, but it didn’t make much sense.” His eyes roamed over to Katara, and he realized she’d assembled about two or three dozen women and children in front of her. The village, most likely. But where were the men?

“Nahli and Aang,” Katara began, unknowingly ending the Airbenders’ discussion. “This is the entire village.” She gestured to the group of women and children in front of them. “Entire village, Nahli and Aang.”

Aang and Nahli both bowed in the Air Nomad fashion: their staffs in front of them, their hands folded perfectly around them. Each opened one eye to look at the other, and the message was clear: _We’ll finish this discussion later._

The women pulled their children close to them, some of the kids already hiding behind their mothers. All had nervous, skeptical, or terrified expressions; many of the children wore a combination of the three.

“Uh, why are they all looking at us like that?” Aang asked. “Did Appa sneeze on me?” He looked at himself to make sure there was no bison snot on his clothes.

“Wouldn’t be surprised,” Nahli joked.

“Well no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years,” an elderly woman said as she stepped forward. She wore a purple parka, and her gray hair was styled in the same way as Katara’s: a braid in the back, a loop on either side of her face. “We thought they were extinct, until my granddaughter and grandson found you two.”

“Extinct?” Aang and Nahli asked in sync.

“Guys, this is my grandmother,” said Katara

“Call me Gran-Gran,” said Katara’s grandmother. The Airbenders smiled in greeting, but still looked a little uneasy.

“What are these, weapons?” Sokka asked, snatching Aang’s staff from him. “You can’t stab anything with these!”

“They’re not for stabbing.” Aang pulled his staff back to him using his Airbending, sucking it right out of Sokka’s hands.

“They’re for Airbending,” Nahli finished. She and Aang nodded to each other, then both opened the wings for their gliders.

The fabric of both gliders was orange, with larger wings up front and smaller wings in back. The wings resembled an upside-down umbrella, and looked like they folded right into the wood of the staff when not in use. Aang’s glider was just solid orange, but Nahli’s had black designs on the fabric that resembled dragons. In the center of the fabric was some kind of symbol: a dragon coiled with its wings flared and fire blowing out of its open maw. Why Nahli would have this on her glider, Katara didn’t know. Perhaps it had something to do with Nahli studying dragons.

“Magic trick!” one of the kids exclaimed, breaking Katara out of her thoughts. “Do it again!”

“Not magic,” Aang corrected. “Airbending. It lets us control the air currents around our gliders and fly.”

“You know last time I checked,” Sokka snapped, “humans can’t fly!”

“Check again!” Aang and Nahli looked at each other once before taking off. They circled each other in the air, earning many oohs and aahs from the children below. Aang smirked at Katara as he passed her, and Nahli rolled her eyes. 

Suddenly, Aang crashed into a large snow-tower. Nahli almost flew right into his butt, but just barely managed to pull up, do a backflip in midair, and land on her feet on the ground. She spun her glider closed then followed Katara to the tower. 

Aang’s head was stuck. He managed to pull it out after a couple tugs, then fell into a snowdrift on the ground, leaving a new window where his head had been.

Sokka gasped. “My watchtower!”

Katara stopped in front of the pile of snow Aang was buried in. “That was amazing!” she said as she held out a hand to help him up. He took it, and she pulled him to his feet. Once he was standing, he spun his glider closed and gave Katara a proud smile. Sokka ran to his tower, tried to fix it, and earned himself a pile of snow on his head.

“Great,” he said, clearly annoyed. “You’re Airbenders, Katara’s a Waterbender, together you can just waste time all day long!” He ran off, presumably to get more snow to repair his tower.

“You’re a Waterbender!” Aang exclaimed, turning to Katara. Nahli raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed with her staff resting in the crook of her elbow.

“Well, sort of,” Katara said, glancing nervously to Nahli. The way the Arbender was staring at her made her slightly uncomfortable. “Not yet.”

“Alright, no more playing,” came a voice from behind them. Gran-Gran walked up and placed a hand on Katara’s back to lead her away. “Come on, Katara, you have chores.” She and Katara walked away from the two strange kids and the group of small children that was beginning to crowd around them.

“I told you, they’re the real thing, Gran-Gran!” Katara said softly to her grandmother, excitement laced in her voice. “I finally found benders to teach me!”

“Katara,” Gran-Gran stopped walking and faced her granddaughter, “try not to put all your hopes in these children.”

“But they’re special! I can tell! I sense they’re filled with much wisdom.” Katara looked over at where Aang and Nahli were now surrounded by little kids.

“Thee?” Aang said around his staff that was currently stuck to his tongue. “Now my lider’th thuck thoo my thongue!” 

Nahli had her face hidden in one hand, though she looked like she was trying not to laugh. The edge of a smirk peeked out from under her hand. One of the kids pulled on Aang’s glider, earning a “Mmmh!” from Aang that got everyone laughing.  
__________

“Again,” said Uncle Iroh.

Zuko grunted from effort as he bent fire at the girl that stood several feet away from him, doing a flip in the air on the second bending move. The girl simply waved her hand, and the fire dissipated. 

Iroh sighed as he stood up. “No!” he said, sternly but irritated, like they’d been drilling this move all day―which, in fact, they had. “Power in Firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire!” As he said the word “fire,” he shot a blast of fire toward his nephew. The flames licked at Zuko’s armor, but faded just as quickly. “Get it right this time.”

“Enough,” Zuko growled as he stepped forward. “I’ve been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set, I’m more than ready.”

“No, you’re impatient,” Iroh corrected, returning to his seat. “You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again!”

Zuko growled once more in exasperation and whirled around. He kicked out towards the girl, fire flying from his foot. It caught her off-guard and hit her dead center in the chest, and she was flung backward to the floor. She sat up just as quickly as she had gone down, mumbling in a language that sounded more like clicks, snaps, and screeches than words. 

Zuko missed all of this as he stalked up to his uncle. “The Sages tell us that the Avatar is the last Airbender. He must be over 100 years old by now. He’s had a century to master the four elements. I’ll need more than basic Firebending to defeat him! You _will_ teach me the advanced set!”

Uncle was silent for a moment before replying. “Very well. But first, I must finish my roast duck.”

Zuko recoiled in disgust as his uncle shovelled roast duck into his mouth using chopsticks.  
__________

“Now men,” Sokka said to the assembly of little boys that was seated in front of him, “it’s important that you show no fear when you face a Firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight to the last man standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?”

The congregation of young boys was silent, until one raised his hand. “I gotta pee!”

“Listen! Until your fathers return from the war, they’re counting on you to be the men of this tribe! And that means no potty breaks!”

“But I really gotta go!” The little boy had his hands pressed tightly between his legs.

Sokka sighed in defeat. “Okay, who else has to go?”

Every one of the boys raised their hand.

Sokka groaned and facepalmed as the boys got up and walked to the bathroom. As they left, Katara walked up to her brother with Nahli beside her. The Airbender held her staff at her side, clutched in one hand. The bottom of her ever-present scarlet cloak blew a bit in the gentle breeze.

“Have you seen Aang?” Katara asked her brother. “Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago.”

No sooner had Katara asked her question than Aang crawled out of the igloo that housed the bathroom. He adjusted his pants as he stood up and addressed the group of boys walking up to him. “Wow! Everything freezes in there!”

The children laughed and Nahli snickered as she jogged over to join them. Sokka made an exasperated noise then turned to his sister. “Katara, get them out of here! This lesson is for warriors only!” He turned to walk away, but stopped in his tracks when he heard one of the kids scream in delight. He turned around.

Aang and Nahli had created a slide out of Appa’s tail and Sokka’s spear. Aang sat on Appa’s tailbone, giving the little boys a push down the fluffy slide. Nahli stood on the ground by a mound of snow, giving the kids a lift with Airbending to add to the fun. One of the kids did an accidental flip in midair and landed face-first in the snow pile with the others.

“Stop!” Sokka ran towards them, his arms flailing wildly. “Stop it right now!” He grabbed his spear off the stand that held it, and the kids immediately ran off to avoid getting yelled at. 

Nahli raised an eyebrow as she helped the kids out of the snow mound. “What’s your problem?” she asked. “We were having fun. You know, stuff kids actually enjoy?”

Sokka ignored her. He glared up at Aang, still seated atop Appa’s magnificent butt. “What’s wrong with you?! We don’t have time for fun and games with a war going on!”

“What war?” Aang asked as he leapt down, using Airbending to slow his descent. “What are you talking about?” He landed next to Nahli in the snow; she looked just as confused as he did.

“You’re kidding right?” Sokka asked. Katara walked up to him, looking from her brother to the Airbenders with a curious expression.

Neither Airbender answered. Their eyes locked onto something behind the Water tribe siblings. Their eyes bugged and they screamed “PENGUIN!!!” before racing off after the waddling bird, leaving two snow trenches in their wake.

“They’re kidding, right?” Sokka asked again, looking at his sister.

**_commercial break_ **


	3. The Boy in the Iceberg, act III

The snowy beach was full of four-finned penguin otters, their whiskers nearly poking each other in the eyes if they got too close together. Katara skirted around them, trying to avoid stepping on their feet as she looked for her friends. “Aang?” she called. “Nahli?”

Her answer was Aang’s laugh. Katara turned around to see Aang chasing the penguins, who waddled away whenever he got too close. Nahli was doing the same, only she was on her knees rather than her feet so she was more at their level. She spoke to them in a language that Katara recognized as Dregna, as if they could actually understand her. Little did Katara know, they actually could; they just chose to ignore her.

“Hey, come on little guy!” Aang said as he jogged after a penguin. “Wanna go sledding?” He jumped at the animal, trying to grab it, but ended up belly-flopping in the snow with an _“oof!”_ Nahli snickered and came over to him, helping him to his feet, then both turned to Katara.

“We have a way with animals,” Aang said proudly, then proceeded to waddle and make penguin noises. Both girls giggled at him.

“Aang,” Katara said, “I’ll help you and Nahli catch penguins if you teach me Waterbending.”

Nahli looked at Katara like she’d lost her mind. Aang slid past on his belly, getting dragged by a penguin otter while hanging onto its tail. He released it when he reached the girls, then looked up at them. “You got a deal!”

“Just one little problem,” Nahli pointed out. “We’re Airbenders, not Waterbenders.”

“Right,” Aang said as he used Airbending to get to his knees. “But―”

“Isn’t there someone in your tribe who can teach you?” Nahli asked, looking at Katara. Anyone who knew the Airbender well enough would know that she was visibly putting up mental defenses. Aang was not the only one with secrets to hide.

Katara looked away sadly. “No. You’re looking at the only Waterbender in the whole South Pole.”

“This isn’t right,” Aang said, somewhat to himself. “A Waterbender needs to master water.” He thought for a minute, but Nahli beat him to the answer.

“What about the North Pole?” she asked. “There’s another Water Tribe up there, right?”

“Of course!” Aang exclaimed. “There’s bound to be other Waterbenders up there. Maybe they have someone that can teach you!”

“Maybe.” Katara sounded unsure. “But we haven’t had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It’s not exactly ‘turn right at the second glacier’; it’s on the other side of the world.”

“But you forget, we have a flying bison,” Aang said proudly. “Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole.”

“Oh, so I’m just baggage now?” Nahli teased.

Aang rolled his eyes at her then returned his attention to Katara. “Katara, we’re gonna find you a master!”

“That’s―” Katara cut herself off. “I mean…I don’t know. I’ve never left home before.”

“Well, you think about it. But in the meantime, can you teach us to catch one of these penguins?”

“Please, before he gets snow in his pants from the penguins dragging him around,” Nahli smirked at Aang. Clearly that was something that had happened before.

Katara snickered. “Okay, listen closely, my young pupils. Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe.” She tossed a fish each to Aang and Nahli. Instantly the Airbenders were swarmed with penguins, laughing as they were buried under a pile of the things.  
__________

Aang, Nahli, and Katara all yelled in delight as their penguins soared off a snowbank and landed with a puff of white flakes, speeding down the side of a snow dune. Aang found a chunk of ice sticking out, and directed his penguin toward it. It launched him into the air, his penguin flying over the heads of the girls. Nahli glanced up and smirked as he landed between her and Katara.

“I haven’t done this since I was a kid!” Katara shouted.

“You still are a kid!” Aang yelled back.

They disappeared into an ice tunnel, Katara in front with Nahli and Aang close behind her. Aang used Airbending to blast himself in front, then the penguins exited the tunnel and slowed to a stop. The three kids climbed off their penguins, and the animals waddled away. Aang turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight of a large Fire Nation ship stuck in a glacier of spikes.

“Whoa,” he breathed. “What is that?”

“A Fire Navy ship,” Katara answered, her tone suddenly solemn and serious. “And a very bad memory for my people.”

Aang and Nahli looked at each other, then walked towards the ship, side by side. Aang looked both amazed and curious, while Nahli wore an expression that made her look like the world’s youngest, cruelest detective.

“Guys, stop!” Katara warned. “We’re not allowed to go near it. The ship could be booby-trapped.”

Aang looked back at her, one foot on the ice in preparation to climb. Nahli had already begun to climb the ice, heading for a hole in the side of the ship that would allow her inside.

“If you want to be a bender,” Aang said, “you have to let go of fear.”

Katara gulped, incredibly nervous, but walked toward the ship anyway. With Aang’s help, she climbed up to the hole in the ship where Nahli was waiting for them. The three of them then proceeded to explore the ship. Aang looked excited, while Nahli looked like she was ready for something to jump out and attack her. Katara walked behind the Airbender girl, with Aang beside her. To distract herself from the growing pit of fear in her stomach, Katara turned her attention to the sheath at Nahli’s hip, where the name Lynoavai was inscribed on the leather in intricate lettering that resembled dragon scratches.

Nahli turned and walked into a chamber lined with various weapons, her friends right behind her. Aang joined Nahli in looking at the weapons while Katara chose to stay back and observe. “This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl,” she said. “It was part of the Fire Nation’s first attacks.”

“Okay, back up,” Aang said as he perused through the weapons. “We have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. We’ve never seen _any_ war.” He picked up a spear and examined it.

“Aang, how long were you and Nahli in that iceberg?”

“I don’t know…” Aang set the spear back against the wall, the light in his eyes gone.

“A few days maybe?” Nahli suggested, though she sounded unsure. She looked at Katara as if she knew exactly where the Waterbender was going with this.

“I think it was more like a hundred years.” Katara’s eyes widened in shock at the realization.

“What? That’s impossible. Do I look like a 112-year-old man to you?” Aang sounded like the idea was ridiculous, but even he was starting to believe it was true. He was just grasping for anything that could prove it wrong at this point. Nahli, meanwhile, was looking at Katara with eyes wider than penguin-otter eggs.

“Think about it,” Katara said. “The war is a century old. You don’t know about it because, somehow, you two were in there that whole time. It’s the only explanation.”

Nahli stared at the ground, trying to process all this. “Now it all makes sense…” she whispered.

Aang’s eyes slowly widened as Katara spoke, his mouth falling open in horror and shock. “A hundred years,” he said as he collapsed to the floor, sitting against the wall. “I can’t believe it.”

Katara knelt down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Aang. Maybe somehow there’s a bright side to all this.”

“I did get to meet you.” Aang smiled up at her, and Katara smiled back. Behind them, Nahli glared daggers at Katara’s back.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Katara pulled Aang to his feet, and the three of them continued on.  
__________

“Aang, Nahli,” Katara spoke up after a while, “let’s head back. This place is creepy.”

“I completely agree,” said Nahli. “I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this place.”

“Huh?” Aang asked as he looked down at his feet. His foot had caught on a wire, triggering a gate to drop down in front of the door, trapping them. Katara and Aang gripped the bars. “What’s that you said about booby-traps?”

“Oh, good move, airhead!” Nahli shouted. Her fists were clenched at her sides; she looked ready to punch Aang in the face. Before Katara could say anything to stop her, however, a signal flare shot up into the air.

“Uh oh,” Aang said, watching it fly up into the sky. 

Nahli used her Airbending to propel herself out of a hole in the roof. Aang watched her, then looked to Katara. “Hold on tight!” He lifted Katara into his arms and followed Nahli out through the hole. They jumped down the snow mounds using Airbending, Aang carrying Katara. When they reached the ground, Aang set Katara on her feet and they ran off back to the village.

Through a telescope, Zuko saw it all―the flare, Nahli, Katara, and Aang. “The last Airbenders,” he said. “Quite agile for their old age.” He turned to the men standing behind him. “Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar.” He moved the telescope and landed the focus on the Southern Water Tribe. “As well as his hiding place.”

_**To be continued...** _


End file.
